4 Ways To Boost Your Retirement Savings

One of the best long-term things you can do for yourself is to start planning for retirement. Eventually the day is going to come when you retire, and suddenly your main source of income is no longer coming in. When this time comes, you will want to have a steady source of income to help compensate for this loss, and which will allow you to continue with your current lifestyle as best as possible. If you are looking to make the most out of your retirement savings, here are a few tips to get you started.

Start Early

The sooner you can begin saving for your retirement, the better off you will be. Most retirement plans require you to accumulate money over time, and will add interest onto the money that you have saved. This means the longer you have money saved up, and the more you have in the account, the more you stand to earn. Even if you only have a little bit of money each week to put away, it can end up earning you a lot in the long run.

Look Into Employer Options

Many companies offer great retirement plans to their employees. When you contribute to the plans offered by your employer, often times they will match the funds that you put in. This gives you a great value on the money you are saving up, and allows you to earn even more. Talk to your employer about the retirement options that they provide, and see if any of them work for you. If you are married, you should check with the options for your spouse’s employer as well. Be sure to inquire about what happens to the funds if you change your job, as this is something that you will want to know about ahead of time.

Delay Social Security

Starting at the age of 62 you can start collecting Social Security. However, if you are still working at this time, or if you have other funds coming in, you may want to delay these benefits. The longer you can delay getting money from Social Security, the larger the payments will be in the future. You can delay up until age 70, so think about your current situation and decide whether these funds will benefit you more now or in the future.

Deferred Annuities

If you are in your fifties or sixties, investing in a deferred payment, and in return you get a fixed payout at a later date. The money you contribute is not taxed until you make a withdrawal, and these plans can be great if you have already maxed out your contributions in other plans, but would still like to save more. For a deferred annuity, the longer you can delay receiving the payments, the better the payouts will be. By having a deferred annuity payout on the horizon of a certain date, you can better plan your other sources of income. It is just one more way to save up money for retirement now, and have the money there when you need it as you get older. If you would like to calculate how much money you can receive, you can use this deferred annuity calculator to help get an estimate.

Look At All Options

The best way to boost your retirement savings is to know what all of your options are, and to compare them against one another. The more strategies you can take advantage of, the better off you will be when it comes to retire. Take some time to see what is out there for you – either through the private market or through your employer – and decide which will help you to save the most money. The sooner you can do this, the more you can save, and the better off you will be down the road.